Related Links

Q and A: Mike Detillier

Published: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 at 2:51 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 at 2:51 p.m.

Big Fun Correspondent Thad Angelloz recently had the chance to chat with NFL analyst Mike Detillier from Raceland about this weekend’s Super Bowl in New Orleans.

Now that we know Ray Lewis is hanging it up for good following this season, where would you rank him all-time at the linebacker position?

It’s difficult to compare generations, but in the last 15 years Ray Lewis is the best middle linebacker in the game. He certainly will go down with Dick Butkus, Jack Lambert, Mike Singletary and Chuck Bednarik as one of the top five middle linebackers ever to play this game. His passion, his work ethic to get the very best out of his ability, his leadership and his skill set to play middle linebacker has been unmatched in this era of pro football.

I know you got to chat with Lardarius Webb, a former Nicholls State University standout, prior to this season about what he thought about this year’s Ravens team. Have you ever come across a player who was any more dead-on in his predictions for the team he was playing for?

I covered his camp and had just finished interviewing him. As we were walking off the field at Guidry Stadium he told me how disappointed the team was in losing in the AFC Championship Game that January and that they would be back and this time win it. Lardarius told me that the focus was on nothing more than that and that he really felt this was their year and they had all the pieces in place. He was spot-on correct. The tough part about it for him is that he won’t play because of suffering the knee injury in October, but he nailed it on the Ravens getting there.

I know you talk to a lot of coaches and players in the league on a regular basis, have you ever had the chance to speak with or have any sort of in-depth discussions with either one of the Harbaugh brothers since becoming involved with your draft guide?

I have spoke to John Harbaugh, but I really can’t say I know him well, but I know Jim better as a player and a coach. Jim is a tough-minded coach, but open to new ideas and he listens well. Jim has no phony traits in him. You get what you see. The crazy thing is that I know the dad, Jack, better. He was a terrific coach at Western Kentucky for so many years, and so I know Jack pretty well. Both of the sons share his passion for the game and his dedication to putting so much time and effort into football, and yet still have a successful personal and family life.

A lot of people forget, but Colin Kaepernick actually got some of his first college snaps against Nicholls in 2007. Is he one of those guys whose play at the quarterback position has surprised you?

No question. I did two television games while Colin was at Nevada and his game has not changed. He is so poised, very accurate in the pocket and the moments have not been too big for him. I give Jim Harbaugh full credit for making the right move and taking Alex Smith out of the starting lineup and giving the reins to Kaepernick. That could have turned bad on him, but he knew it was the right thing to do and the right time. Colin brings another element to defend in how he runs the “read option” plays, and he drives you crazy as a team trying to defend him because he is so effective as a passer and also his running dimension. I will say this also, I am 100 percent sold on that over the past two seasons, Jim Harbaugh has been the best coach in the NFL. What he has done in getting his team to the NFC Championship Game last year and this year the Super Bowl has been superb. Best coach in the game the past two seasons.

What is a key matchup people at home should keep tabs on when watching this year’s Super Bowl?

Can the Ravens run the football is the key. If you become one dimensional against that 49ers defense you will lose. Joe Flacco has turned into the AFC version of Eli Manning and played great in the playoffs, but halfback Ray Rice and the Ravens play upfront along the offensive line is key against the best front seven in the game. If they rush for more than 130 yards, the Ravens win. The Ravens have to be patient and run the ball to win.

Is there any single player in Sunday’s game that might not necessarily be on people’s radars, but could be a difference maker when everything is all said and done?

For the Ravens, it is tightend Dennis Pitta. You can see Joe Flacco looks for him in certain down and distance situations, and he caught 61 passes this season — but most people aren’t real familiar with him. He has real sure hands, and Pitta knows how to find the open creases downfield and can stretch the middle of the field real well. On the 49ers, it would be outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks. Aldon Smith, Patrick Willis and NaVarro Bowman get most of the ink, but Brooks is a terrific football player. He has great speed off the edge as a pass rusher, and he is tough in run defense along with being a really good pass cover linebacker — ask Drew Brees about that.

Finally, what is your prediction for a final score?

I really believe this will be a slugfest and low scoring. I like the Baltimore Ravens to win it 23-20. I really think this is their (Ravens) time.

Of all your memories of watching past Super Bowls, what is your favorite one besides of course seeing the Saints win it all in 2010?

Well, for me it would be Super Bowl III. The New York Jets upsetting the Baltimore Colts sticks in my mind. My dad never really liked the AFL and felt it was the “B” league for players, and he didn’t like the individualism of players with really long hair and the beards and such that was part of the late 1960s. And, in particular, he didn’t care for Joe Namath. To him, Namath was the leader of that generation. I was a huge Joe Namath fan and all week he was telling me how this great Baltimore Colts defense would get after Namath and finally put him in his place. Then Namath guarantees a Jets win, which stoked the fire even more. The first half, all the Colts did was turn the ball over time and time again, and Namath and the Jets were magnificent. I don’t think he said a word to my brother and I in the second half. He was in disbelief that what he thought was a ragtag New York Jets team could upset one of the best teams ever in pro football. It certainly goes down as one of the biggest upsets in pro football history, but for me it was a moment that is embedded in my memory because his thoughts on Namath and the then-AFL changed after that. And even some of his thoughts on what he thought was the counter-culture of the world. Every time I see that game replayed I think about it. It was certainly a game-changing event for the NFL, but he listened much more closely afterward to things I said about the “other” league after that game.

Did you ever expect your yearly draft guide to become as popular an item as it is? Futhermore, do you still find yourself amazed that so many people seek out your opinions on a regular basis in regards to football?

I would be kidding you if I said, ‘Yes, I thought it would be this popular and I would have this kind of success with it.’ I am very thankful for those who helped along the way, and it is amazing sometimes to look at the log I keep daily and see all the shows and personalities and people in the league that will call for opinions and sometimes just to bounce comments off of you. It’s been a remarkable ride for me. I am not surprised at the popularity of the NFL draft. In my mind it was always a big event, and now with what ESPN has done with it on television and the coverage newspaper, television and radio wise, it is the second-most-covered event in football behind the Super Bowl. You win on those draft days with picking the right players and you get to the Super Bowl.

Policies in regards to what is expected of someone in a press box is pretty universal. Tell me what happened to you personally during the NFC Championship game and Super Bowl the year the Saints won it? Did you find it difficult maintaining your professional decorum during those games?

Yes, and remember who I sit next to also (Bobby Hebert). The NFC Championship game was much more emotional to me than the Super Bowl. All of us had a great time before the game and it was like a junior Mardi Gras to be honest, and the game became a heavyweight title fight between two really good teams. It was a moment I won’t forget. Everyone who has covered this team was emotional and excited for the success. You can’t hide that. I have lived here all my life and seen a lot of bad teams, and now here the Saints are going to the Super Bowl. But the moment that really set me off was right after the game my friend Marco Garcia, who does the Spanish broadcasts of the game, got me on to say a few words and his son, who was a huge Saints fans had recently died of leukemia. It was an emotional moment for him, and after I finished I got Bobby (Hebert) to say a few words and he broke down and cried for quite some time. It was the feeling of the area that you really thought about those who couldn’t be there, and the tears were of joy of finally getting to the big game. The football earth shook when Tracy Porter intercepted the pass that sealed the Super Bowl win, but the moments after that NFC title game will always stay with me, and your objectivity left you for that moment in time. You are human and this team represents our area and finally they get win pro football’s biggest game. I got called by Jason Smith from ESPN radio immediately, and I kind of repeated the Al Michaels line from the 1980 Olympics game upset of the U.S. hockey team over Russia. “Do you believe in Miracles, Yes, the Saints have won the Super Bowl.”

Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.